SHOWERED WITH BLESSINGS

SHOWERED WITH BLESSINGS
April 16, 2018

Prayer: We have been greatly blessed from Your gracious hand, O Lord. Please show us where we may need to repent of complacency and pride, greed or waste. Thank You. Amen.

Scripture: “Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ.” Ephesians 1:3 NIV

“Blessed are all who fear the LORD, who walk in his ways. You will eat the fruit of your labor; blessings and prosperity will be yours. Your wife will be like a fruitful vine within your house; your sons will be like olive shoots around your table.” Psalm 1281-3 NIV

You are probably thinking I goofed with two Scriptures at the top today. I wanted to give you some beginning references to answer a question I posed in a recent workshop, “If April showers bring May flowers, what do showers of blessings bring?” There is no one right answer. In fact, the answers vary like the flowers of May and even contradict each other depending on the person being blessed.

What responses or actions might be brought on by an abundant outpouring of blessings? My first response was “praise,” directly followed by “thanksgiving.” The extra Scripture provided makes us think that blessings bring on more blessings – that by being blessed you may prosper and eat the fruit of your labor. Your spouse will prosper. Your home and your children will prosper. Wow! It seems that your blessings can just puddle and pool around you. Then a completely different train of thought surfaced with answers like complacency and pride. Ouch! Those responses seem to be the sort of “weeds” that can come after the showers too.

Think about a time when you were blessed abundantly and remember that blessings come in many shapes and forms—health, children, protection, comfort, guidance, finance and ministry—just to name a few. What was your reaction? God blesses us abundantly every day. It is up to us to open our eyes, hearts and minds to recognize them. Look for showers of blessings over the next week.